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Warlock (magazine)
For other uses of '''Warlock', see'' Warlock (disambiguation) Warlock was a magazine published by Penguin Books and the British game manufacturer Games Workshop between 1983 and 1986. Originally dedicated to the Fighting Fantasy gamebook series, the magazine rapidly developed a wider focus on the fantasy gaming genre, acting as a more junior version of the established White Dwarf magazine. Introduction Established and edited-in-chief by Fighting Fantasy creators Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, Warlock maintained an informal and lively character through thirteen issues before finally coming to an end with a "Special Horror Issue" in the December of 1986. The Warlock was a manifest character of the magazine, referenced through most of the features as a diabolical overlord of the publication (subordinate only to the Grand Wizard at Penguin for the first five issues); most likely originally an alter-ego of Jackson himself. Originally sub-edited by Tony Lacey and Philippa Dickinson, Warlock later gained much of its character when "real editor" Marc Gascoigne joined the publication following its transfer to Games Workshop from Penguin Books. Warlock was also published in under the same title by Shakaishisou Sha. Established in December 1986, the Japanese version had a much longer lifespan and continued until March 1992. It began as a direct translation of the original magazine, but soon developed with its own original material. Regular Features Mini Gamebook Each issue of Warlock included a mini-solo adventure employing the Fighting Fantasy Rules used in the main gamebooks. Notably, the second and third instalments of the publication included mini-adventures that were shortened versions of gamebooks from the main series. Issue 2 had a short version of Caverns of the Snow Witch by Ian Livingstone and Issue 3 had the short Fighting Fantasy adventure story The House of Hell by Steve Jackson. This short was later expanded into a full novel House of Hell and proved to be one of the more popular books. There were also a selection of multi-player mini adventures based on the Fighting Fantasy - The Introductory Role-Playing Game set up. Multi-Player Boardgames *Issue 3 - Market Mayhem *Issue 5 - In Search of the Mungies' Gold Out of the Pit "Out of the Pit" was a of Fighting Fantasy monsters contributed by various authors and readers throughout the issues. Aside from the mini solo adventure, it was the only section to appear in all 13 issues. This section proved so popular that in Issue 3 a Monsters Book was advertised as being in production. In Issue 4 the book was again advertised as being in production with a working title of Out of the Pit: The Fighting Fantasy Book of Monsters. At around the same time as Issue 5 was published, so to was the book Out of the Pit in 1985, which featured creatures from the books that had been published to date plus all creatures that had appeared in this section of Warlock. The section continued to appear in Warlock beyond the publishing of the book, thus there are some creatures that appear in the Out of the Pit section of the magazine, that do not appear in the book. The Warlock's Quill TBC This section first appeared in Issue 3 and was continuous until Issue 13. This is with the exception of Issue 10 where it still appeared but under the name Derek's Quill, with Derek the Troll supposedly taking over from the Warlock for that one issue. Fighting Fantasy News This section lasted from Issue 3 to Issue 5. It was essentially a forum to advertise upcoming Fighting Fantasy releases from the gamebooks to the more obscure items, such as Jigsaws, Miniatures and Boardgames. Notably, when Games Workshop took over publication from Penguin Books, this section ceased as the magazine became less focused on Fighting Fantasy and more on gaming and gamebooks in general. Arkenor & Max Arcane Archive Omens and Auguries Derek the Troll Derek the Troll, a regular comic strip written and illustrated by Lew Stringer, became one of the most enduring characters of the magazine, first appearing in the strip in Issue 7. He did not appear in Issue 8 but was then a regular until the end of the publications lifetime at Issue 13. The much put-upon Derek soon broke out of his strip to add "his" opinion to the book reviews section and other articles. In Issue 13 the strip was broken into an ultra-mini 16-frame version of the gamebook format, (Derek the Troll's 'Orrable Troll-Playing Game), inviting readers to navigate Derek past the malevolent force which was Trev the Vampire. Derek even took over the Warlock's Quill duties in Issue 10. Fantasy in Miniature / Paint 'Yer Dragon "Paint 'Yer Dragon", by Rick Priestley, consisted of regular tutorial articles on miniature-painting and model-making. Issue 9 introduced readers to effective figure preparation and painting, while issue 10 examined more advanced customisation of figures using techniques such as 'pinning'. Issue 12 considered the minutiae of figure bases. - 24 Competitions Non-Regular Articles and Features Interior Illustrators Interior Illustrator Note It should be noted than in Issue 11, Issue 12 and Issue 13 the interior illustrators were no longer credited. Rather, only the Art Editor was named, which in all three issues happened to be John Blanche. See Also *Entries for individual Warlock Magazine Issues: **Warlock Magazine Issue 1 **Warlock Magazine Issue 2 **Warlock Magazine Issue 3 **Warlock Magazine Issue 4 **Warlock Magazine Issue 5 **Warlock Magazine Issue 6 **Warlock Magazine Issue 7 **Warlock Magazine Issue 8 **Warlock Magazine Issue 9 **Warlock Magazine Issue 10 **Warlock Magazine Issue 11 **Warlock Magazine Issue 12 **Warlock Magazine Issue 13 *''White Dwarf'' References Category:Warlock Magazine Entries